Expat investing... shares or property?

Hi I'm new to the forum and I'm new to investing. I've received a job offer overseas so I'm looking to get started on investing in Australia in order to gain the most I can from tax benefits. I'll be earning tax free income and I will be a non-resident of Australia for tax purposes.

So here is a basic starting question.... 43% of Aussie expats invest in property compared to about 23% in equities. The disadvantage of property is that being overseas you can't inspect properties physically, therefore you need a buyers agent, and secondly all the extra stuff eg: arranging building inspections etc etc is more difficult from o/s. The advantage of a share portfolio is that you click a button and your investment is done for $20 brokerage fee.

However, something I'm wondering about is negative gearing. The long term accumulation of tax credits resulting from negatively geared property is a big attraction for the expat investor, but it is possible to achieve the same or similar benefits when investing in shares?

 

You should consider the tax aspects. Non residents don't get any 50% CGT discount - but this may not be a big issue. Any losses will be carried forward but as a non resident you won't be getting any tax free threshold.

With shares you may not be taxed (in Australia) on capital gains but you may not be able to benefit from franking credits.

 

Welcome to the forum! Terry is the one you want to listen to as far as advise goes, so my suggestion would be to ask lots of questions!